38 minutes to solve. To be honest, I solved this two weeks ago and I can’t remember whether I found it enjoyable or not. I probably did. Sorry about the lousy preamble, you can provide your own in the space below if you wish
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CATECHIST being CATCHIEST with the E moved to the left |
| This religious teacher could be most deceptive when ‘e shifts position (9) /font> | |
| 6 | P OK ER – minimal stake being p(enny) |
| Game in which minimal stake’s approved with hesitation? (5) | |
| 9 | RECITAL – clichéd anagram of CLARI[-N]ET |
| One’s performance with clarinet going astray, missing note (7) | |
| 13 | ACORN – cryptic def |
| Fruit cup’s content (5) | |
| 14 | HE[LIP]AD – very clever definition misdirection |
| Chopper comes down here, with edge cutting loaf (7) | |
| 15 | DO UBT LESS – UBT being (BUT)* |
| Certainly act, but badly? Not so! (9) | |
| 16 | SPIRIT LEVEL – two defs, one pretty funny |
| Amount of whisky, say, that’s useful for evening out (6,5) | |
| 17 | EARTHENWARE – THE NW in 2x (ERA)* |
| Pottery in the North-West, in different eras (11) | |
| 18 | PLOUGH – double def. I had to resort to online Chambers for this one “3 Brit colloq, old use a to fail (a candidate in an examination); b intrans said of a candidate: to fail an examination.” Never heard of it myself but then again I ploughed my obscure definitions exam |
| Fail to break new ground, perhaps (6) | |
| 19 | AS CRIB[-B]ED |
| Attributed as copied, except for one book (8) | |
| 21 | E(X,PA)ND |
| Times, every year, in design becomes increasingly elaborate (6) | |
| 25 | SECOND ER – I can only assume that one of those strange Times Online peculiarites changed EDWARD II into EDWARD THE SECOND. That, or the setter had a bit of a senior moment |
| One formally supporting Edward the Second (8) | |
| 26 | BREAKS ONES DUCK – this one just seems a little bit rubbish to me. There may be siomething I haven’t spotted though |
| Avoids disgrace in test by exceeding minimum score (6,4,4) | |
| 28 | SEPOY – being Y(OP)ES all rev, It’s a native of India who’s a soldier allied to a European power |
| Eastern soldier in agreement about work, turning to West (5) | |
| 29 | B(RAIN)Y – as in “right as rain” |
| Showing intelligence, by absorbing what’s right? (6) | |
| 30 | DOUBLE CHIN – chin chin is an underused alternative to “cheers” or “good health”. It’s also a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles but I can’t really make this fit the clue |
| Sign of obesity that could be seen as related to your health! (6,4) | |
| 33 | RAINFOREST – hidden |
| Piece of terrain for estate that has lots of tropical trees (10) | |
| 35 | P,REACH – &lit clue – the whole is the definition and the whole is also the wordplay. Very clever indeed |
| From front of pulpit, try to get something across (6) | |
| 36 | BASE,L – as the name suggests, a centurion was in charge of 100 men, so half these would be L |
| In European city station half of centurion’s men (5) | |
| 38 | PRODUCTION LINE – (CLUE TO DROP IN IN)* |
| Unusual clue to drop in, in process of constructing many (10,4) | |
| 40 | INDIA,NAN – an inhabitant of Indiana |
| Mid-Westerner in Eastern state getting bread from there (8) | |
| 42 | INSTAL -STALIN with IN moved to the front |
| Set up ruthless dictator, having moved in first (6) | |
| 43 | DI(A)METER – a dimeter is a metrical line of verse with two feet. What a metrical line of verse with two feet is, I have no idea. I do know, however, that a tripod is a bit of scientific equipment with three feet. |
| Two-foot line covering area that spans circle (8) | |
| 44 | CIRCUS – apart from U=university I have no idea how this works |
| One’s named Oxford as university restricted by current conditions (6) | |
| 47 | MISSIS,SIP,P,I – referencing Ol’ Man River, the song from Showboat most associated with Paul Robeson |
| So-called old man and wife have a little drink quietly with one (11) | |
| 50 | STRAIGHT OUT – (RIG-OUT THAT’S)* – not too keen on the anagram fodder already containing “OUT” |
| Rig-out that’s altered without hesitation (8,3) | |
| 52 | A(E ROD)ROME |
| Point of arrival, perhaps, for English staff in a foreign capital (9) | |
| 53 | CO EXI(S)T – the S being the beginning of “Salaries” |
| Avoid conflict in company split over salaries, initially (7) | |
| 54 | ASS,AM – I like “preceding PM” for AM |
| Fool preceding PM in Indian state (5) | |
| 55 | ALL(ERG)Y |
| Some work partner’s taken over creates unhealthy reaction (7) | |
| 56 | SU(S A)N |
| Girl named in second article in newspaper (5) | |
| 57 | SETTLES IN – a settle is a long wooden bench with a back |
| Gets comfortable with seating at home (7,2) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | C,LASS |
| Elegance of cape on girl (5) | |
| 2 | TROPIC OF CAPRICORN – a book by Henry Miller and a line of latitude 23 degrees south of the equator |
| Miller’s tale with a certain degree of latitude throughout (6,2,9) | |
| 3 | CO(N TIN)GENCY – does tin mean money anywhere other than in crosswords? |
| Logical clarity about new money, provision for rainy day, perhaps (11) | |
| 4 | I(N)HALE |
| Take one drag that contains nitrogen (6) | |
| 5 | TE(LEVIS)E – Shock horror! The Times use product placement. Thousands of solvers around the world will be popping out to get themselves a pair of 501s. Nice clue though |
| Kind of shirt covering pants put out on box (8) | |
| 6 | POPULAR FRONT – very clever clue. Brighton and Blackpool were/are both locations of political conferences and both have pretty busy seafronts |
| Left-wing coalition a feature at Brighton or Blackpool? (7,5) | |
| 7 | KIDNEY BEAN – a bit of cockney rhyming slang – loaf (of bread) = head =bean |
| Kind of meat loaf and vegetable (6,4) | |
| 8 | RUD[-d]ER – I was about to bang on about “some unknown film director called Rudder..ridiculous…blah blah blah”, but I realised just in time it’s the thing that directs (or steers) a boat |
| Half-hearted director, less pleasant in manner (5) | |
| 9 | ROUGH HEWN – being “RUFF” + (WHEN)* |
| Crudely finished frill, say, when altered (5-4) | |
| 10 | CUT AND PASTE – (A STUDENT A PC)* – well played Mr/s Setter |
| A student with a PC contrived thus to rearrange text (3,3,5) | |
| 11 | THE TA – another brilliantly clever one. Cheers = thanks = ta |
| The cheers for one character in Marathon (5) | |
| 12 | LI(ST)EN – lien being a legal right |
| Crossing street, right to pay attention (6) | |
| 18 | POST,SC,RIPT – RIPT being (TRIP)* |
| Extra lines in letters, namely covering trip at sea (10) | |
| 20 | DISLOYAL – I’D rev + (ALLY SO)* |
| I had upset ally so badly, being this? (8) | |
| 22 | NOUGHTS AND CROSSES – cryptic def. I don’t know whether this was a brilliant clue or whether I was a bit dim not to get it earlier, maybe both – zero=NOUGHTs and ten=X=CROSSES |
| Game in which player’s mark might be seen as zero or ten? (7,3,7) | |
| 23 | MEMBER – not sure about this one. Members can be arms or legs, so presumably they could also be wings. I think this is what the setter is getting at |
| Elected person of either left or right wing, say (6) | |
| 24 | S(KIN FLINT)S – in this case “near” means tight or miserly |
| Near ones in family joining pirate captain in ship (10) | |
| 27 | PA’S SWORD |
| Old man’s weapon that’ll secure one’s access (8) | |
| 31 | BEHIND – double def. We haven’t got many of these this week |
| Seat providing support (6) | |
| 32 | FRANK E[-i]NSTEIN |
| Honest scientist I abandoned for a notorious one (12) | |
| 34 | FAULT FINDER – a ref to tennis |
| Critical type who’s dissatisfied with the service? (5-6) | |
| 36 | BRITISH RAIL – the land rail is another name for corncrake, a bird. British Rail was the company who ran the railways pre-privatisation when everything was nationalised and the service was rubbish. Oh, hang on a mo’, it still is |
| One of our native birds whose tracks used to cover the country (7,4) | |
| 37 | FLEA CIRCUS – a pretty poor cryptic def |
| Performers in this entertainment irritate their hosts (4,6) | |
| 39 | T( ALL’S TO)RY |
| Judge grasps everything’s leading to unreliable account (4,5) | |
| 41 | NEAR MISS – (MARINE)* + SS. Has “ship” ever meant anything else? |
| Marine at sea on ship that’s narrowly averted disaster (4,4) | |
| 45 | IMPALA – an African antelope that some morons find pleasure in shooting. |
| Big game held in Blenheim Palace (6) | |
| 46 | DIK,TAT – DIK being KID rev |
| Child turned over worthless articles in arbitrary order (6) | |
| 48 | SORE,L – pretty obscure def. It’s a buck in its third year |
| Tender a pound for a buck (5) | |
| 49 | PRESS – double def. a tennis press is what you put your tennis bat in to stop it warping |
| Urgency that’s needed to avoid crooked racket (5) | |
| 51 | T,I’M,ON – there are several Shakespearean characters that all crossword solvers should know and Timon of Athens is one of them |
| In West End, I’m performing in title role (5) | |
“your health” = “chin chin” = double chin = sign of obesity. You must be standing too close.
At the time of solving I vaguely remember thinking this was a good puzzle with perhaps a couple of flat moments, a view that seems to be echoed here. Of its high points I thought 18A excellent – love it when a setter incorporates a clue about clueing.
For CIRCUS I’m also unsure about the wordplay – my guess was that CIRCS is a colloquialised abbreviation of CIRCUMSTANCES but I haven’t looked it up.
Quite right, Anax, it’s in the COD.
I loved the other CIRCUS clue at 37.
P.S. Did you try scrolling down having clicked Delete? There’s another button to be clicked before anything happens.
Quite right, Anax, it’s in the COD.
I loved the other CIRCUS clue at 37.
P.S. Did you try scrolling down having clicked Delete? There’s another button to be clicked before anything happens.